Deadlifts are seen as the ultimate challenge of strength in the fitness world. The strength, power and also skill required to pull huge weights off the floor is astonishing. Just look at Eddie Hall pulling 500kg off the floor with ease, he combined all of those skills with calculated aggression and a lot of adrenaline to pull a world record off the floor. We appreciate that not everyone is in the position pull these huge loads off the floor. Whether it is injury, lack of mobility, poor technique or mental blocks, some people do not have a good relationship with pulling from the floor.
This is why we think that Romanian Deadlifts are such an important movement as anyone can do them with enough practice. We are not damning conventional deadlifts, we believe that RDLs are a more beneficial movement!
What is a Romanian Deadlift?
For those that don’t know, a Romanian Deadlift (RDL) is where someone holds onto the barbell in a normal deadlift grip at the their hips, but rather than crashing the barbell down to the floor, they control the bar down until the plates are about 6 inches off the floor. Then from here, driving the hips forward until the bar is back at hip height. Due to the fact the bar doesn’t touch the floor, the amount of hamstring tension in an RDL is subsequently more than your normal deadlift. It tends to be a “safer” movement for people who lack the appropriate mobility to lift from the floor safely.
This is the simple breakdown for the movement, but if it still isn’t resonating with you, we have added a video below to give you some more guidance.
What is the benefit?
Constant Tension: As the barbell isn’t resting on the floor in between each rep, this means there is constant tension throughout the movement. Specifically hamstring/glutes/lower back are not having to constantly engage to 100% tension, then relax to 0% tension. This puts the muscles under constant time under tension, without going into too much specifics, will aid muscle growth, strength and power.
Reduced Risk Of Injury: The most common place you see injury in the gym is the heavy deadlift. The problem arises from mobility issues usually. If you have a tight hips and quads (specifically into hip flexion), it means that you have to tuck your spine underneath you to get lower enough to pick up a barbell. If your spine has to tuck underneath and go back into neutral with added load, then the chance of injury will increase! With the RDL by removing the bottom portion, you are avoiding the spine having to change shape to accommodate the movement.
Mobility Improvements: As the Romanian Deadlift is more hamstring focused than the normal deadlift, it can be seen to help in mobility in the stiffened tissues. Try it out for yourself, especially those with tight hamstrings. Try and touch your toes before your session, then complete 4 sets of 10 reps of Romanian Deadlifts, then test again…
What are our coaching points?
Feet Width: We recommend that the feet are directly under the hips, rather than outside the hips. This will help increase the tension in the hamstrings and makes the movement slightly longer than the traditional deadlift.
Move From The Hips: When the bar is in your hands at hip height, rather than controlling the bar down to the floor, instead push the hips backwards. As the hips push backwards, the barbell will naturally move down. This will help protect your spine position and initiate the glutes straight away.
Two Tempos: When the barbell is heading down towards the floor, move with control. Aim for at least a two second lowering (also known as negative or eccentric), then when you are ready, drive your hips forward and squeeze your glutes as hard as you can, until you are at your starting position. This second phase (also known as the lifting or concentric) should be focussed on moving quickly and squeezing all your structures as tight as possible,
Straps: Personally we would recommend wearing straps. As the tension is constant, with usually a higher rep range, the amount of stress on the grip is increased. When the grip fatigue, the form (especially around the upper back) will also fatigue and when that fatigues, it can cause serious issues!
Can we vary them?
Equipment: personally we think barbells are the best equipment for this, but once you feel comfortable with your form, you can use alternatives such as - kettlebells, trap bars, dumbbells
Stance: Personally we recommend feet directly under hips but if that doesn’t feel comfortable, then you can try - duck feet, traditional stance, sumo
Grip: We recommend a tight grip when the hands are directly next to the hips, overhand (palms facing you) as this is the most comfortable for most people. But you can change the grip - Snatch (wide grip), Supinated (palms facing away), Mixed (one palm forward, one palm away)
Tempo: Manipulating tempos is an easy what to change movements up. You can easily slow down the lowering phase, pausing at the bottom or slowing the lifting phase for different goals!
And that concludes our article on why Romanian Deadlifts are so important to your training! We hope it answered all the questions you may have or opened your eyes to how RDLs can help you! If you have any questions then please leave them in the comment section below. If receiving sports therapy is something you are interested in, then please let us know! At NRG we also offer personal training (including a complimentary free session), sports massage, injury assessment with a free phone consultation, all within this sports injury clinic!
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